President Donald Trump identified The New York Times and The Washington Post as news outlets he might ban from the White House in the future, describing both publications as "disgusting" and "fake news."
Trump made the remarks on Friday, shortly after announcing that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House. When asked by a Bloomberg reporter if other outlets would follow, Trump responded by naming the Times and the Post.
"The New York Times is fake news, uh, Washington Post is fake news. They’re crummy papers. Both doing very poorly, by the way, but we’ll see," Trump said. He clarified that while he might stop displaying these papers in the White House, he had not yet taken the step of "throwin’ ‘em out."
He further elaborated on his criticism, stating, "New York Times is so fake. Washington Post is disgusting. I mean, they’re disgusting. I don’t get it. Why would they be, you know, we’re doing so well, and they’ll take the most positive story and make it as negative as possible."
Trump has frequently labeled news he disapproves of as "fake news" since entering politics, often criticizing outlets over coverage of his administration.
Journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were denied access to the White House on Saturday morning, following the president's announcement of their ban.
When a reporter mentioned the First Amendment's protection of press freedom, Trump responded sarcastically, "Oh, thank you for telling me."